Captain America: Civil War (2016) is directed by Anthony Russo & Joe Russo and stars Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Elizabeth Olsen, Chadwick Boseman, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Paul Bettany, Tom Holland, Daniel Bruhl, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, William Hurt, Frank Grillo, Martin Freeman, Marisa Tomei, John Kani, John Slattery, Hope Davis, and Alfre Woodard. The film follows Steve Rodgers/Captain America (Evans) and various members of The Avengers after a mission gone wrong in the city of Sokovia results in the death of hundreds of innocent civilians. The incident causes various world leaders to establish The Sakovia Accords, a new set of laws meant to keep the Avengers in check by putting them under the control of the United Nations. When Cap refuses to sign, it drives a wedge between him and Iron Man (Downey Jr.), but things only become worse when an attack on the UN is blamed on The Winter Soldier/Bucky (Stan). Convinced that Bucky is innocent, Steve goes outside the law in order to protect his friend. This forces the various Avengers to choose moral sides – Cap or Iron Man?

Although it’s undeniably overstuffed with characters (especially for what’s supposedly a Captain America-focused film), the film works because it essentially plays out as a really good Avengers movie. The thing is, it also works as a great Captain America movie. This is achieved due to the fact that although the story feels very Avengers-inspired, it tells the story squarely from Cap’s perspective. Whether he’s right or not, he’s the one we follow. Despite the countless important characters, the script never forgets that Cap is at the center of everything. 

The returning MCU cast members are all at the top of their respective games – there isn’t a single weak link. This marks the first film in the MCU that actually impressed me in terms of character. By this point in the franchise, the characters come across as effortlessly complex. Unlike the first two Avengers films, this feels like the first installment in the MCU that fully delivers on its shared universe premise. Unfortunately, the film makes the mistake of padding its runtime by impatiently introducing not just one new superhero – but two. Don’t get me wrong, Spider-Man (Holland) and Black Panther (Boseman) are undeniably cool; they just don’t feel even half-necessary to the story. Spider-Man has absolutely no role other than fan service, and Black Panther has an arc and motivations identical to Tony’s, which makes the character completely redundant. I like these characters, but there’s no doubt that cutting them from the film would’ve resulted in a much more focused story. 

This overstuffed nature forces the movie to move at a fast pace, but it also results in questions the film simply just doesn’t have time to address. This causes there to be a lot of plot holes – something that doesn’t ruin the experience but does take it down a few notches. There’s also one particular action sequence that makes zero sense (even in the context of the MCU). It involves some of the superheroes running significantly faster than cars, but at one point, one of the characters decides to jack a motorcycle – which then seemingly moves faster than the people running. It contradicts itself almost immediately and results in an otherwise awesome chase sequence coming off as head-scratchingly silly. 

Overall, this is easily one of the best Marvel films and solidifies Captain America as MCU’s most consistent brand in terms of quality. The climactic battle between iconic heroes is more or less everything I dreamed it would be, but the film also satisfies on more intellectual levels. It’s a breath of fresh air to finally see these characters face the unintended consequences of their actions – something from this point forward enriches the complex nature of their responsibilities. If the movie wasn’t so overstuffed, it’d easily be Marvel’s best film. Unfortunately, Kevin Feige just couldn’t himself. That being said, it’s a kick-ass time that should fully satisfy anyone who’s invested in the MCU’s larger story. It won’t make much sense if you aren’t caught up, but if that’s the case, I don’t even understand why you’d be watching it in the first place. B+